In this corner: Terrence Wheatley

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FOXBORO - When it came to making early roster projections for the Patriots, and coming up with the easiest name to toss out from the cornerback mix, Terrence Wheatley was the choice.

He was on his way out. There was no need to view more evidence. Two years was plenty enough. He already was being chalked up as a second-round bust. And with ample reason.

Whether set back by injury woes, or simply falling out of favor with the coaches, Wheatley slipped so far down the depth chart last season, it was hard to find him. Even he had a tough time figuring out his place on the team. Worse, he had started to lose confidence in being able to find his way back.

But with the dawn of a new year, and a renewed commitment, Wheatley has rediscovered what made him so attractive to the Patriots in the first place. The way he sees it, the game comes a lot easier if you just go out and play - and stop worrying about everything else.

“I probably think too much. That’s what I’ve been told. So I kinda just stopped thinking,” Wheatley said following yesterday’s indoor practice. “Obviously, I go through my presnap reads. But once the play is going on, I shut the brain off a little bit and just play.”

On Sunday, coach Bill Belichick noted the change in Wheatley and how the player has progressed. Belichick pointed out a pass play during Thursday night’s preseason win against the New Orleans Saints, on which the cornerback quickly diagnosed a slant route, as a sign of maturity. Wheatley also snuffed out a quarterback sneak a few plays later.

There’s no question he’s a much more confident version of the corner we’ve seen the past two seasons. And while still in a fight for a roster spot, likely with Jonathan Wilhite, Wheatley is no longer so easy to cast aside.

Judging by Belichick’s compliments, Wheatley definitely opened some eyes at training camp and served notice that he’s not going down without a fight.

What we forget sometimes is that opinions can change, and they can do so in a hurry. An athlete with the proper makeup can often give himself a second chance or another opportunity to change people’s minds.

Wheatley is doing just that.

“This is still a game. It’s a job, yeah. And I’ve been brought in to play, and play well. And I really haven’t played well,” Wheatley said. “But there could be worse things in life that could be going on right now. I mean, I could have no job, and not be here, No. 1. After all I’ve been through in my life, this is really not that difficult. You just have to make your mind up that you’re going to do it, and that’s pretty much what I did.”

He spent most of the offseason trying to get back on the horse. He trained and studied. He was a film-room junkie.

Essentially, he was looking to reconnect with his comfort zone. He watched and studied film when he played corner in college at Colorado. That’s where he was most successful, so he tried to bring some of those principles back into his game.

When asked if his chief motivation for all the offseason work was the fear that this might be his last chance with the Pats, Wheatley claimed it was more about maturing as a player.

“We are professionals. So you have to find a way to get better, whatever it is,” he said.

“At that point, I thought, well, let me go back and see how I used to play. And obviously, it worked back then. So let me see if it works up here. It’s been working so far, so hopefully it’ll continue to work.”

Wheatley understands this is a make-or-break year for him. That’s no secret. But he won’t dwell on that. He’s just going to relax, play and let the chips fall where they may.

“Ultimately, it’s up to them what they want to do,” Wheatley said. “Until then, I’m just going to play.”